Wednesday, August 24, 2016

DCS migration at polystyrene manufacturer.

DCSNext capabilities allow INEOS Styrolution to avoid any additional downtime during migration and leverage the complete benefits of the latest technology

The second phase of a major DCS migration has been completed for INEOS Styrolution, a polystyrene manufacturer.

Maverick Technologies applied their DCSNext solution for this project. This takes an innovative approach to DCS migration by considering opportunities for improvement across the entire operation. Thanks to a thorough planning process and team-based dynamic, the entire project was funded upfront; this allowed it to be implemented in concurrent phases during planned outages with no additional downtime.

Leveraging Maverick’s full capabilities through DCSNext was critical to the project’s success. INEOS Styrolution had never before conducted a major DCS migration at their Channahon facility, and its staff was already short on engineering resources. Maverick brought in experts from its operations consulting, design, automation services and field services teams to support Styrolution before, during and after the migration.

The upfront funding approval was achieved through a comprehensive front-end loading (FEL) process. Early FEL helped define the overall scope and strategy while outlining the costs, risks and gaps. This allowed Styrolution a clear look at what the full spend would be, and gave the polystyrene manufacturer confidence that the company could hit all major milestones without exceeding the proposed budget or timeline. Subsequent planning was then performed in parallel with execution to move the project forward without interruption.

In order to eliminate unnecessary downtime, it was essential that all work be completed during the plant’s planned maintenance window. An embedded construction manager from Maverick’s field services group oversaw the entire installation and startup, freeing Styrolution staff to focus on other critical tasks during the outage.

By applying the latest technology and innovations, the team expects to help improve productivity, profitability and agility across the entire operation. Ultimately, this will also include upgrading the existing HMI to a high-performance HMI, which will help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of facility’s HMI graphics and screens.

INEOS Styrolution Project Engineer Jason Werner says the company is pleased with the support MAVERICK has provided through its DCSNext solution. “MAVERICK Technologies is definitely a company that I would recommend to accomplish a DCS project. They worked with us to create unique ideas for implementation of a full system upgrade within a limited outage window.”